The 25-year-old Tanaka was assured a boatload of money when his Japanese club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, made him available this week through baseball's posting system. He spurred interest by going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 2013.

McGehee, who signed with the Miami Marlins this offseason, offered a quick scouting report on Tanaka: “The jury is out on how many pitches he has, but he’s got at least three that are weapons, not just pitches he uses here and there. He can lean on any one of his fastball-slider-split at any time."

The forkball sets Tanaka apart, McGehee says.

“His forkball is the best one I’ve seen,” McGehee was quoted as saying. “A lot of guys over there throw one. He’s the one guy that was able to manipulate it and have it do what he wanted. He could throw it for strikes. He could take speed off of it. He could throw it harder. He could bounce it. He was really special with that pitch."